Propelling means for dirigible airships



March 18, 1930.

J. w. SILVER 1,750,765

PROPELLING MEANS FOR DIRIGIBLE AIRSHIPS Fild Feb. 7, 1928 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR Jssz 14/. 5/1. 1/5

ATTORNEY March 18, 1930. J. w. SILVER 1,750,765

PROPELLING MEANS FOR DIRIGIBLE AIRSHIPS Filed Feb. 7, 1928 2 Sheets-Sheet 2' IINVENTOR 555 1415/41/51? ATTORNEY Patented Mar. 18, 1930 UNITED STA LTSQJGS JESSE W. SILVER, OF TACOMA, WASHINGTON PROPELLING MEANS FOR DIRETGIIBLE AIRSHIPS Application filed February 7, 1928. Serial No. 252,504.

This invention relates to improvements in propelling means for dirigible airships, and it is in the nature of an improvement on the construction of United States Patent No.

1,675,914, on propellers for dirigible airships,

issued to me on July 3, 1928.

It is the principal object of this invention to improve upon the device of the application above referred to by providing a propelling unit that is more easily mounted and which has a certain degree of flexibility that is required for ships of this character and which is not provided for in the rigid ring construction of the prior application. Also, to pre- 5 pare av unit whereby head resistance to travel of an airship is reduced to a minimum so as to make possible a. greater speed.

More specifically defined, the object of this invention is to provide airships with two or more encircling propelling units, each unit consisting of paired, flexible belts operating over suitable guiding and driving sheaves mounted upon the frame structure of the ship and on which propeller vanes are fixed at spaced apart intervals.

Other objects of the invention reside in the details of construction of the belts and the driving and guiding sheaves and in the provision of means on the belts for engaging the driving sheaves to prevent slippage.

Still further objects of the invention reside in the details of construction of the propeller vanes and the manner of mounting and bracing them on the belts.

Other objects reside in the various details of construction and combination of parts and in their mode of operation, as is hereinafter described.

, In accomplishing these objects, I have provided the improved details of construction, the preferred forms of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings, wherei-n Figure 1 is a side elevation of a dirigible O airship equipped with propelling means in accordance with the present invention.

Figure 2 is a cross sectional detail, showing the means for mounting and driving one of the propeller units.

Figure 3 is a detail view of one set of the belt supporting and driving sheaves, illustrating the manner in which it is mounted in the frame structure.

Figure 4: is a top or edge view of a part of a propeller belt, with a propeller vane mounted thereon.

Figure 5 is an enlarged side view of one of the belt driving sheaves.

Figure 6 is an enlarged, cross sectional detail of one of the belts as mounted on a sheave; showing one of the driving teeth on the latter meshing with the spacer clips of the belt.

Figure 7 is a top view of a spacer clip as attached.

Figure 8 is a side view of the same.

Referring more in detail to the drawings- 35 l designates, in its entirety, a dirigible airship of the type for which the propelling means embodied by the present invention is intended. The ship may comprise a frame structure of cigar shape and circular in cross section, or it may be of other desirable design. Since the frame structure of the ship comprises no part of the present invention, it will not be described in detail, but it is to be understood that it is intended that it be equipped with longitudinally, spaced apart, circular frame sections, as indicated at E2 in Figure 2, and longitudinally extending ribs 3 whereby the ring-like sections 2 are joined in proper spaced relation. The whole frame structure will be covered also by means of an envelope 4: and suitable cross bracing and in terior structure is provided for supporting the gas cells, ballast, fuel tanks, engines, etc. which, in the present drawings, are not illus- 35 trated.

Encircling the ship, near the forward and rearward ends, are the propeller units, each being mounted so as to revolve about the ship in a plane that is perpendicular to its axis. The present illustration shows the ship to be equipped wi h two of these units, which are driven in opposite directions, but it to be understood that two or moi-s units could be r employed as is required or desired for producing a certain desirable speed and certain of these units should rotate in a direction op posite to others in order to overcome any tendency in the ship to rotate.

In the preferred form of construction, each 105} unit'consists of a pair of continuous belts; each belt being made up of a pair 0:5 parallel, spaced apart cables 5-5 carried by a plurality of guide sheaves 6 and driving sheaves 7 that are mounted circumferein tially spaced intervals about the ships frame; each set of belts being equipped at regular intervals with propeller vanes 8 which are set at an angle with TGSPGCUCO their direction of travel so as to produce a pull in the longitudinal direction of the ship. The guide sheaves 6 are provid d in sutlicient number and are so located as to support the belts close to but clear of the envelope 4c, and the driving sheaves 7, which are here shown to be f arger than the guide sheaves, may be provided in required numbers and located as required to give the best results. As here shown, there are six sets or. driving sheaves and they are equally spaced.

The belt supporting sleaves 6 are arranged in paired relation on supporting shafts 6 carried in suitable bearings fixed in the frame. Also, the driving sheaves 7 are i paired relation and are keyed or otherwise iixed to supporting shafts 12 and each of these shafts connects with a driving motor 13; these motors preferably being electrically driven and mounted in the frame structure closely adjacent the wheels which they drive.

For the purpose or preventing any possible slippage between the belt cables 5 and driving wheels 7 the latter are provided about their periphery between the encircling grooves in which the cables follow, with equally spaced apart teeth 14c and, clamped to the paired cables 5, are'spacer clips 15 having openings 15 therein for receiving the teeth. The preferred form of clip used for this purpose, as shown best in Figures I and 8, consists of upper and lower sections that are fitted to opposite sides of the cables and clamped thereon by connecting rivets 17 extended through the end portions of the clip sections. These spacer clips are located closely together with their ends in abutment so that no slippage relative to the cables is possible.

Overlying each pair of cables is a ring consisting of a plurality of inwardly opening segments 18 of channel form which inclose the belts and their spacer clips. These channel sections are attached to the cables by bolts 19 through their central and end portions and underlying spacer clips, as shown in Figures 4 and 6.

The propeller vanes 8, preferably, are of the type shown best in Figures 3 and i, and consist of plates that are set approximately at an angle of 45 degrees with respect to the direction of movement of the propeller belts. These plates are fixed rigidly to upstanding flanges 20 that are provided on the channel sections 18 and each is braced so as to stand perpendicular with respect to the belt, by

means of a pair of brace rods 21--21 which are secured to the outer ends of the vanes and forwardly and rearwardly of the vane to the rings which inclose the two belts.

Assuming the airship to be so equipped wit-h propelling units, wherein one unit rotates in adirection opposite to the other, it is possible to exert the maximum amount of driving pressure without causing any tendency to axially rotate the ship. It is to be noted that by this construction the propelling force is axially of the ship and not below or at the side, as is the result where the propelling devices are suspended from the ship. The frame or" the ship, therefore, is not subjected to any twisting strain.

it is also apparent that the propeller units may be driven at various speeds and may be provided with more or less number of propelling vanes as is required and, if desired, a-

entrally located plant could be provided to drive all of the driving sheaves in lieu of the individual motors for each set of driving sheaves.

lit is also desired to point out that with this arrangement of propelling rings, the head resistance encountered in ships which use suspended propelling devices and which results from the banking or stacking up of the air ahead of the ship incident to its travel, is eliminated to a remarkable degree, since the propellers operate in such manner as to cut through and then discharge the air laterally from the ship. Thus, the speed of travel'inay be materially increased.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new therein and desire to secure by Letters-Patent, is:

1. In an airship of the character described, a propeller unit comprising a plurality of paired sets of guide sheaves and belt driving sheaves mounted at space intervals circumferentially about the body of the ship, flexible cable belts mounted for travel about the ship on the said sheaves, propeller vanes fixed to the belts and driving devices connected with the several driving sheaves for operating the belts.

2. In an airship of the character described, a propeller unit comprising a plurality of sets of paired guide sheaves and driving sheaves mounted circumferentially of the ship at spaced intervals, flexible belts com-.

prising two spaced apart pairs of cables mounted for travel about the ship on the said sheaves, said driving sheaves having peripheral teeth and said paired cables having spacer clips fixed thereto with openings therein adapted to receive said teeth, propeller vanes fixed to the belts and driving means for the belt driving sheaves- 3. In an airship of the character a propeller unit comprising a plurality of paired sets of guide sheaves and driving described,

a my.

sheaves mounted at spaced intervals circumferentially of the ship, motors for driving each set of driving sheaves, said driving sheaves having peripheral teeth two pairs of flexible belts in spaced relation operable about the ship on said sheaves, each of said belts comprising two spaced apart cables, spacer clips fixed in end to end abutment on the paired cables having openings therein adapted to receive the teeth of the driving Wheels, a ring inclosing each of the belts and comprisinga plurality of ring segments in end to end arrangement and fixed to the belts and propeller vanes fixed across the rings of the unit.

4. In an airship of the character described. a propeller unit comprising a plurality of paired sets of guide sheaves and driving sheaves moun ed at spaced intervals circumferentially of the ship, motors for driving each set of driving sheaves, said driving sheaves having peripheral teeth, two pairs of flexible belts in spaced relation operable about the ship on said sheaves, each of said belts comprising two spaced apart cables, spacer clips fixed in end to end abutment and iaired cables having openings therein adapted to receive the teeth or" the driving Wheels, a ring enclosing each of the belts and com prising a plurality of ring segments of ill- Wardly facing channels secured to the belts, propeller vanes fixed to the rings of paired belts and braces fixed to the vanes and to the rings.

Signed at Seattle, Washington, this 19th day of January, 1928.

JESSE l/V. SILVER. 

